The Dawn of Spring
by OmegaNY037
Summary: Shortly after after leaving Konoha for three years of training, Itachi and Kisame attack Jiraiya and Naruto. Jiraiya wins the battle, but is fatally wounded. He tells Naruto everything he can before his death, but now Naruto must train alone.


Check the end for the translation of "Shunmin akatsuki o oboezu" and some author notes. Also, this is my first time writing in years, or at least since I graduated college and moved to Japan. So assume that any other stories in my account are inactive or dead, not to mention work that I would now consider way subpar.

**The Dawn of Spring**

_Either a One Shot or Prologue_

He should have realized there was a problem when he woke up well after dawn. By the time he had arrived at the scene, it was already over. The landscape had been transformed into a wasteland of destruction far greater than he had seen in any of his past battles. The remains of the two men who he had encountered weeks ago could be found all across the battlefield. He could not remember exactly the name of the man with the chakra-eating sword and shark-like looks, but the other man he knew very well; a traitor to the Leaf and the man whom his best friend had sworn to kill, Uchiha Itachi. Now all that remained of the former Anbu captain and fearsome member of Akatsuki was a mangled, lifeless corpse and a scratched out Konoha forehead protector. Less than that much had remained of his partner, the shark-like man. Even amidst the gruesome scene, part of the boy wanted to celebrate, but his desire was instantly tempered when his eyes finally caught sight of his mentor, dying.

One of the Legendary Three, a student of the Third Hokage and the teacher of the Fourth Hokage, Jiraiya lived up to his reputation by simultaneously defeating two of the strongest men in the entire world. Unfortunately, meeting this challenge required him to sacrifice his life, and now the end was near. He had no wish to die, but now that the moment had arrived, he found a strange sort of peace in it. He had lived a full life, and he would die exactly the way he wanted to, protecting a person he loved. As the boy who had become like a son to him ran and shouted towards his failing body, he knew it was all worth it. Hell, he would even have enough time to say goodbye. What more could a person ask for? A smile rose on his face as he began to speak.

"Naruto, you finally made it. What took you so long? Shunmin akatsuki o oboezu, ne?" Jiraya managed to cough out. Even in his dying moments, he was going to tease this boy.

"Ero-sensei! I'm sorry. If only I-" Naruto managed to cry out before Jiraiya stopped him with a shake of the head followed by a smile.

"It's fine Naruto. It isn't your fault. I am glad you weren't around, you would have gotten hurt. By deciding to protect you, I chose my own fate. Do you understand?" Jiraiya told Naruto in a fatherly tone. If these were to be their last moments together, Jiraiya wanted to impart as much wisdom as he could on the boy.

"Yeah, but-" Naruto barely managed to whisper out before Jiraiya responded loudly.

"But, Nothing! It really is a good thing Naruto. I am happy for the time we spent together. After the Fourth died, I managed to keep going, but part of me died as well. When I met you and saw how much you were like him, and me, that part of me returned. I realized what the Third always said about the "Will of Fire". Naruto, the will of fire remains strong in you. I am sad that we have to part so soon, but knowing that you will go on makes me happy. Those two men who attacked, Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Itachi, both of them were at my level or stronger than me. Do you know how I defeated them? Jiraiya asked Naruto. At first talking had been difficult for the dying man, but now it seemed like he could talk forever. It seemed that the goddess Amaterasu was smiling upon him today.

"How?" Naruto automatically responded to the rhetorical question. His eyes were wide and his own body was almost going through shock, while the fatally injured Jiraiya continued as if his wounds did not exist.

"Simple. When one protects his precious people, he can become truly strong. It may have seemed as though I was outnumbered, but that is not true. I was not alone. I fought with you in my heart." Jiraiya waited a moment to let this sink in, before he continued. "When a person keeps a precious person in their heart, they fight with the strength of two people. That is why, as long as you keep me in your heart, I will always fight besides you. Remember this always, Naruto." Jiraiya gave a look at Naruto, who nodded his head and gave an affirmative grunt.

"Well then, it seems we got that settled. Since it appears I have a little more time left, I will tell you everything I can about what is happening. As you already know, you are a demon container for the nine-tailed beast, Kyuubi. What you might not be aware of, is that there are actually others like you spread amongst the countries. In fact, you have already met one before, his name was Gaara." Images of a boy on top of a giant beast made of sand flashed through Naruto's head. "I see that this doesn't surprise you. While you aren't the type to think things through that far, you probably noticed the link you shared and realized it unconsciously. It is good that you met him, for it will help you find the others. Though there are seven other tailed demons, my research has found that only five of them have been placed in containers." Jiraiya waited for the implication of five others like Naruto and Gaara running around to sink in before resuming.

"Naruto, this is where the two men I defeated come in. They are part of an organization called 'Akatsuki'. They want to capture all the demon and demon containers and steal their powers. Once a container's powers are taken, they will die. Furthermore, once Akatsuki has all the powers, they will be unstoppable. To prevent this, I tried to take you from Konoha to train you in a hidden area. My sources have confirmed that Akatsuki will need at least two or three years before they can begin stealing the powers of demon containers. What happened today was just a fluke. I caught them spying on us this morning and a battle ensued. With both of them dead, Akatsuki is unlikely to send anyone to spy on you until they are ready to capture you. During this time, you must train. I have with me several scrolls I made for you in case something like this happened. Use those scrolls and find help to complete your training. Did understand all of that?" Jiraiya hoped he did because he didn't have the strength to repeat it. Fortunately, Naruto nodded in the affirmative.

"Good. Become strong enough to protect all of you precious people, Naruto. Show them all the will of fire and succeed in your dream to become Hokage." Jiraiya felt his life leaving him with each word.

"I will. Count on it. I will be greatest Hokage ever!" Naruto shouted with eyes closed and tears running down his face.

"I believe in you, Naruto. Goodbye." Jiraiya said as his final words. Naruto stood in that spot for hours, until the sun started to set and the woods became cold. Rather than start a fire or go to sleep, Naruto began digging a hole with his hands. By the time he finished, his fingernails were spilt and bleeding far worse than when he dug a tunnel during his fight with Neji. Naruto placed Jiraiya's body into the hole and then filled it up. Just as Naruto placed a large stone to mark the grave, the sun broke above the horizon. Dawn had come. This time, he was there to see it.

"What was it that he said? Shunmin akatsuki o oboezu?" Naruto asked himself. As he looked up at the sun, he made a vow to himself. "I won't miss the dawn again."

-----

Translation Note: "Shunmin akatsuki o oboezu" is a Chinese/Japanese saying that means "In spring one sleeps a sleep that knows no dawn.". Basically, it is saying that because spring nights are so comfortable, one sleeps so well that they cannot wake up in time for dawn. I used this line because the word for dawn, Akatsuki, is also the name of the organization chasing Naruto.

------

Author's Note:

Now, I am not sure if I just want to leave this as a one-shot or to make a full story out of it. I don't have a ton of time, so it would be a while between chapters, even small ones. Also, this story I just wrote real quick and haven't attempted have someone edit or beta it. It was purely on a whim and frankly I can tell that it is well below my normal level of quality. Not to mention very short. I just wanted to flesh this one scene out. I will likely clean it up and release it at some time if I decide to write a full story. In that case, I might repost it under a better title.

I do have one question for you guys. I attempted to limit my use of Japanese in the story, because I was afraid of using words that you didn't understand. By opening the door for easy words like "sensei", I might accidentally use a lot of words that I think are simple but aren't.


End file.
